NEW DELHI: Team Anna and government representatives on the joint drafting committee engaged in clause-by-clause combat over the draft Lokpal bill spread over nine long meetings.

The audio tapes of the proceedings made public by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Monday vividly depict the stark gap between the two sides on the issues of financial independence and powers of the proposed Lokpal; especially on whether it should have jurisdiction over the Prime Minister's Office, MPs, judiciary and lower bureaucracy. Gloves also came off when government countered the pitch of the activists that the Lokpal should have powers to investigate and punish bureaucrats.

The ministers argued that bureaucrats needed some protection in order to function. "We need to set an example," was the riposte of the other side.

While the deliberations were not exactly cordial; there was none of the acrimony and pugnacity that marked the public exchanges between the two sides. But the civility did not lead to dilution of the tenacity with which representatives of the government and the Hazare faction of civil society held on to their views. No quarter was given, none asked for.sources: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com